Econometer: Replace VA with vouchers?

This photo taken April 28, 2014 shows the Phoenix VA Health Care Center in Phoenix. Veterans at the Phoenix veterans hospital waited on average 115 days for their first medical appointment _ 91 days longer than the hospital reported, the Veterans Affairs Department’s inspector general said Wednesday. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., immediately called for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign. Miller also said Attorney General Eric Holder should launch a criminal investigation into the VA. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Associated Press

This photo taken April 28, 2014 shows the Phoenix VA Health Care Center in Phoenix. Veterans at the Phoenix veterans hospital waited on average 115 days for their first medical appointment _ 91 days longer than the hospital reported, the Veterans Affairs Department’s inspector general said Wednesday. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., immediately called for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign. Miller also said Attorney General Eric Holder should launch a criminal investigation into the VA. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Marney Cox, San Diego Association of Governments

The benefits of a voucher system seem to have the correct elements to overcome some of the prime criticisms made of the current VA health system. A voucher-supported service means additional independence for the customer previously dependent on the good will of the provider. The service provider would no longer have a “monopoly,” competitors would force the provider to provide the services required on a schedule set by the customer, not the other way around. Vouchers would introduce a welcomed element of choice and a discipline that puts the customer in charge of determining and receiving satisfactory health care.

Phil Blair, Manpower

With few exceptions I fail to see where a government run hospital system is a better choice for veterans and taxpayers than the extensive competitive private sector medical systems. If availability of excellent medical care throughout the country is a top priority then clearly the private sector, which is in every small to medium community now, would give veterans many more options for care and much closer to wherever they live. If cost is a concern, I would really like to see the private sector have an option to bid on the veteran’s business, much like they do with private insurance carriers.

Kelly Cunningham, National University System

The VA healthcare system is a vivid example of the inefficiencies, bureaucracy and duplication of single-payer/government provided medical care. The system is dysfunctional, anachronistic, and should be phased out. Veterans could receive vouchers or medical cards allowing them to choose care at the best location for them. The VA already spends 10 percent of its budget on private care services. Further privatization would increase the efficiency of care for vets. Unfortunately, U.S. healthcare is already so overburdened by government control, the availability of private systems as currently configured are challenged to take on all the needs of military veterans as well.

Gina Champion-Cain, American International Investments

Yes, the VA is the second largest Federal bureaucracy, a mammoth fraught with problems defined by Inspector General's reports that span the last six administrations. It is unconscionable that little to no provisions were made for the impending influx of Iraq, Afghanistan and aging Vietnam Veteran populations. Psychiatric support has been tragically ignored. VA volume is up 50 percent, primary care physicians who previously covered 1,200 patients are now tasked with an astounding 2,000 veteran patients, an untenable situation. Vouchers for those who wish to use the private sector would relieve pressure on the VA, create competition for the bureaucracy and choice for the consumer.

Alan Gin, University of San Diego

Vouchers should be incorporated to provide some flexibility for veterans to get some basic forms of care in the private sector. That would reduce the burden being placed on the system due to the huge influx of patients as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the system should not be completely privatized. VA patients have concerns that are not usually dealt with in private hospitals, at least not in terms of the numbers of patients with missing limbs, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and PTSD among other issues. Plus, it's not as if the private sector is completely free of bureaucracy and long waits either.